Yep it is a hip. The old ones are easier to recover from but have restrictions after you heal. My age is such that the insurance company was on the fence as this one costs 3 times as much. I'm just not willing to entertain a knife handle or similar from my hip bone.
Interesting idea. Honestly, my wife you probably veto it, but I could see myself stabilizing the bone with some bright colored resin, and then using it for bolsters on a nice kitchen knife or so.